Donkey Kong Bananza

Lying in bed one night after a lengthy Donkey Kong Bananza play session, I experienced this game’s equivalent of the Tetris effect. Rather than seeing falling shapes when I closed my eyes, I was instead still viscerally feeling the satisfying sensation of punching into the earth itself, carving tunnels and digging my way through terrain with the raw power of my fists. It’s a simple concept that, in practice, makes Bananza feel like no other platformer out there. Arriving in each new “layer,” I’d gaze at it differently than I would a new area in a traditional platformer, seeing the terrain not just as something to be run across and leapt on, but dug into, carved up, tunneled through every which way. 

Bananza subtly and smartly tweaks the design of DK, making him look less crafty than he has since the arrival of Donkey Kong Country and instead emphasizing a kind of openhearted, empty-headed sweetness and enthusiasm. The ape loves two things: his friends, and bananas. I’d argue that Bananza ends up being a bit overstuffed with the latter–we could do without some of these skills and skill points and so forth–but the way it handles the former, as his friendship with Pauline helps the timid singer believe in her own abilities, is quite endearing, and makes for a wonderful reimagining of the dynamic between these two legacy characters. It’s been over 40 years since Donkey Kong first snatched Pauline from Mario, sending them off on their first arcade escapade; how great to see DK and Pauline as BFFs today, enjoying their own grand adventure without a Mario Bro in sight. – Carolyn Petit